This Wisconsin manufacturer is growing by cultivating local talent

Greenheck Fan Corporation CEO Jim McIntyre speaks about how the company, which has facilities in Schofield and Mosinee, is growing, in his office in Schofield, Wis., on October 17, 2017.
Alexandra Wimley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

SCHOFIELD - A group of young professionals, beers in hand, studied the diagrams around a large, metal box. They detailed its workings, pulling fresh air in and pushing old, stale air out to keep an office, hospital or school well-ventilated.

The group hadn't gathered at the Greenheck Education Center just to learn about ventilation systems. The April speaker crawl event at the building on the company's campus in Wausau's south metro area was part of YPWeek, a week of events designed to bring young professionals together. The speaker crawl in Wausau connected those young community members with new skills and mentors in different professions through short talks.

But the venue wasn't a coincidence. Greenheck, a manufacturer of fans and ventilation systems and one of the largest employers in central Wisconsin, has made courting young professionals a key part of its growth strategy. The whole Education Center building is a showcase of its technology aimed at young people. In the newly constructed building next door, the $17 million Robert C. Greenheck Innovation Center, engineers work to create new products and sharpen their existing lines.

The company was the major sponsor of YPWeek, which aims to at bring together young professionals scattered across the Wausau area, and connect them to the community and the businesses within it.

Greenheck in 2015, 2016 and 2017 won a Bubbler award from Newaukee, the Milwaukee-based young professionals group and organizer of the statewide YPWeek, signifying its work to make itself a great employer for young professionals. No other business in the state has won the award three times.

Greenheck is not a new company — in fact, it's celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. It has business all over the globe and its pristine, high-tech manufacturing floor helps to fight the old, false stereotypes of manufacturing work in Wisconsin as dirty or rote. And recently the company has kicked off a new phase of growth. It's one of the Wausau area's largest employers, employing 3,400 people all over the world, 2,000 of them in Wisconsin. In August, the company announced the planned construction of a brand new plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will create around 75 positions.

Clearly something it's doing is working.

Roots in a portable milk cooler

Bob and Bernie Greenheck started a small sheet metal shop in Schofield in 1947. Bob Greenheck was an engineer, just returning home from the war. The brothers employed a few people; one of their products was a portable cooler that kept milk chilled when the milkman dropped it off at homes.

From there, the products got more advanced. Lawnmowers and other agricultural tools were produced in the tiny brick building, until one day, the Greenheck brothers and their crew built their first air turbines in the early 1950s, said Kathy Drengler, the director of human resources for the company.

"That's where it all started," Drengler said.

Rotary turbines like this were among the first ventilation products manufactured by Greenheck in 1947.(Photo: Courtesty of Greenheck)

The line of air products was simple at first, Drengler said, just units that exhausted stale air and brought new air into the building. But today, those units have gotten more complex, more comprehensive and have led the small company to the forefront of the industry supplying air to a growing world.

Greenheck’s first factory, with three employees, was located on the site of what’s now Facility 1 on Ross Avenue in Schofield.(Photo: Courtesy of Greenheck)

Through the years of change and growth, Greenheck has kept its epicenter in central Wisconsin.

"It started out because (the Greenheck) family was from here," Drengler said. "But it really comes down to a good workforce and a really good community support system."

A place to realize potential

The number of employees that Greenheck employs has grown steadily, aside from the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, said Drengler. And a lot of that growth is due to young professionals.

Greenheck starts educating children in the area at young ages, hosting students through the Central Wisconsin Metal Manufacturing Association Heavy Metal Tours, said Drengler. The tours highlight manufacturing and all of the opportunities that the industry offers.

The company also accepts many co-ops (college students who work while attending school) and summer interns each year. College students from local tech schools and universities across the state get hands on experience every year, which attracts them back for full-time jobs after graduation.

“We hire a lot of students right of college,” Drengler said.

Yami Jaramillo, 22, is one of the young professionals that started out as a co-op and came back for a job this spring. Originally from Texas, Jaramillo chose to stay in Wisconsin after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in May because of the chances to further her education with Greenheck.

"If you see yourself somewhere, the company will work to get you there," she said. "They help you grow."

Jaramillo said that though she’s only part of a two-year program, she would like to remain in central Wisconsin longer, because of the opportunities for outdoor recreation as well as the caring culture of Greenheck.

Manufacturing jobs accounted for more than 16 percent of Wisconsin's workforce, according to 2014 data the National Association of Manufacturers. The state's Worknet data from 2016 found the sector employs more than 465,000 people in Wisconsin. And manufacturers are still among Wisconsin's largest employers.

The company also tends to retain its employees once they're hired, Drengler said, offering them opportunities to further their education and even switch paths within the company. She's an example of the retaining power of offering continuing education, having switched from finance to human resources after a number of years with the company.

There are also other perks to working at Greenheck, especially on the Schofield campus. There’s a medical clinic on-site, with doctors and even a pharmacy, said Drengler. There’s also a full gym, with a personal trainer ready to help employees get in shape.

“There’s a broad range of benefits that employees get,” Drengler said. “The most important aspect of our company is our employees.”

Onward and upward

Today, Greenheck is a global company, said CEO Jim McIntyre.

The company has expanded into India and Mexico, two countries experiencing fast economy growth — and, given their muggy climates, also heavy demand for air movement products. Greenheck has also opened plants in California, Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida and Texas, and will be opening a brand new plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the coming year, as well, to meet the rising demand in the southern parts of the company, McIntyre said.

“We want to get closer to customers,” he said. “We can deliver faster, with lower costs.”

But Wisconsin plants are also getting a boost. Two buildings on the Schofield campus are currently undergoing expansions, which will allow for more high-tech automation to go in on production floors, and eventually, will allow for more hires.

The Mosinee branch of Greenheck, which manufactures dampers, will also see an expansion in the next year, McIntyre said.

And while Greenheck is still firmly rooted in the production of air products, that doesn’t mean there won’t be room for innovation in the future, McIntyre said. But the overall goal of the company is to remain at the top of the market, and keep being able to provide for the employees it has.

"We're one of the largest employers in the community and that weighs heavily on the owners and on me," McIntyre said. "We want to remain a viable and strong business, and a good community employer. We want to be here a long time."

The company is also working to combat the thoughts of what old manufacturing looked like, and the stereotype of the rustbelt, which Wisconsin usually falls under.

"Our shops are clean, they're safe. The old image of what manufacturing used to look like, it's not like that anymore," Drengler said. "At least not at Greenheck. It's very high tech manufacturing."